Monday, April 30, 2012

Week 18 of 2012 - My Town


Well, I have several home towns but I think I will talk about Romeo for this week's blog. I was born in Lapeer, Michigan but we moved to Romeo when I was one year old. Well, technically we moved to Macomb County and our address was Romeo. We lived on the corner of 29 Mile Road and Mound Road in a new small subdivision. It was the first subdivision to be built by Fritz Builders. We lived on Fritz Drive and I believe that there were three houses when we moved there in 1956 with more scheduled to be built. So we lived in the country...maybe six miles from town.

Smith home on Fritz Drive and 29 Mile Road
 
This is our house in 1958. When we moved into it, the inside was not completed. My father worked nights and weekends putting up drywall and paneling. I did not remember this fact until a few years ago when I began the project of scanning in our old photos.

This is a photo of my 3rd birthday and you can clearly see that there is insulation in between the studs and that Dad is working on the drywall. On the lower half of the walls he put up tongue and groove knotty pine paneling. From left to right circling the table : Everett Smith(Grandpa), Sue(sister), Pam (sister), Lillian (Grandma) , Leah (Mom) and Janet (me)...I do not really have memories of this event.

This was a neighborhood picnic which I believe the Fritz family organized. I do have vague memories of this event. All the families from the neighborhood come. My father took several pictures of the picnic. In this photo, many of the neighborhood children gathered around to get a ride on this sweet pony. I believe that it was a pony which the Fritz boys had in a field next to their house. This would have been my first pony ride.

 
It is cute that it is most of the neighborhood girls. My sister Sue is on the back and I think she is riding with one of the Deneer girls...I can not remember for sure. When it was finally my turn, Pam and I got to go for a ride! As you can see I am pretty excited but my sister seems pretty bored or wishing that I had not tagged along! This I do remember!


 
And here Pam gets to ride by herself that seems to be what she wanted. She has the grin from ear to ear. She looks like she is thrilled! 



I find these photos interesting. Our house is the one on the far right, notice the roof which is covered with soot from the fuel oil furnace. The other houses are more recently built because they do not have soot yet on their roofs. It makes me wonder if there had been a problem with our furnace or something. Wish I could ask my Dad.

When we first moved to Romeo, Dad worked for Egleston's (not Engleston...) Clothing Store in downtown Romeo. He eventually went to work for Mitzelfeld's in Rochester after a few years. I do not remember when Dad worked in Romeo. 


Our church was in Romeo and it played a very prominent role in our family. It was on Main street but I can not remember what the side street was. It was the First Methodist Church then and would later become the United Methodist Church.

Our grocery store was an A&P in Romeo. I remember going to town with Mom and Dad on Saturday. Dad would drop Mom off at the grocery store and we would go around the corner to the church where he would spend the next 30 minutes to an hour playing the big pipe organ. I loved to hear him play but I also love to be in this massive building. It was like being in a palace to me! So I would beg to go with him.  He cautioned me every time we went that I would have to behave and sit quietly while he played.  " There will be no running in the sanctuary!"  he would tell me.  I would try very hard to just sit in the first pew and listen but first my little feet would fidget.  Then I would just sit on the floor and then under the pew...and before I knew it I was three pews back rolling and playing on the floor.  When I reach the back of the church I could usually get a few minutes of dreamy play in the sanctuary before he noticed I had left my seat. He would call for me and I would return to my spot! Wow... I have not thought about this is a long time...what fond memories of a time when a little girl got to spend with her Dad!

Such fond memories,

Jan


No comments:

Post a Comment